
Book 



HiC 



LINCOLN ANNIVERSARY 



1800=1898, 

February 12th. 




With niiilioo towui'd nunc, with ahnrity I'av till.' 



STATE OV NEUKASKA. 

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, 

LINCX)LN. 



r:-4^6t 



^PR IH 1907 

0. OF D. 



LINCOLN DAY 



Department of Public Instkuctiox, 

Lincoln, Nebraska, January 10, 1898. 
Teachers and Papi/s of Nebraska: 

The example of Abraliain Lincoln illustrates the value of the in- 
spiration to be gathered from the study of noble and useful lives. It 
was through his study of the life of Henry Clay that his ambition 
was kindled, and he thought, "Why may not I become useful and in- 
fluential?" Tiie century and a quarter of American history is replete 
with instances of the great men of the nation who were among the 
poor boys. 

Since Lincoln's career, we have had m:uiy striking examples of 
illustrious men who have come from the humble walks of life; among 
them, one from the tannery n)arched triumphantly to the I'escue of 
the nation and honored the Presidency with unparalleled renown ; an- 
other by his dauntless energy walked from the tow-path, througli 
years of toil, to the most exalted ])osition within the gift of the people. 

Surroundings of weaitli and luxury are usually barriers to true 
greatness. The proper basis upon which greatness should be estimated 
is that of usefulness. To every boy or girl — no matter how poor or 
humble — comes .strength and courage from the study of the life of the 
lowly rail-splitter, who l)ecame the greatest man of the century — if not 
of all centuries. Fortunate was it for our c!Ountry that lie was born 
among the pioneer people and had his early education among them. 
Tiie lessons he learned in the simple and humble school of the forest 
were freighted with the grand and the good; everything about him was 
just as it came from the hands of the Creator, and was teeming with 
the good and the beautiful. It developed both the head and the heart, 
and produced the best type of manhood — both physical and mental. 
Here he learned lessons of patriotism and daring for the right. Mr. 
Lincoln's mother was one of that splendid type of brave and heroic 
pioneer women. She has since become distinguished among American 



2 . LINCOLN DAY. 

women because her child, born in a lowly cabin in the midst of the 
western forest, has since won for himself an immortal name in the 
affections of the people. He was brave and good because his mother 
was brave and good. 

The purposes of the following exercises are to maintain in grateful 
remembrance the greatest American, and to foster such a spirit of pa- 
triotism in the education of the children of our public schools as 
shall result in building up noble manhood and womanhood. 

The members of the G. A. R., who so bravely responded to the call 
of Lincoln to defend the Union in the hour of trial; the members of 
the W. R. C, who ever stand ready to carry forward any patriotic 
work; the Sons and Daughters of Veterans, who are wont to i)er[)et- 
uate the deeds of valor and patriotism of their fathers — all aie espe- 
cially invited to assist in making this day one long to be remembered. 

I trust that the cordial co-operation of the schools and general pub- 
lic will be so given as shall make this day one of such great profit as 
will result in the annual celebi-ation of Lincoln's Day in the schools 
of our great state. Tliis booklet should be preserved in the library 
of the district, and frequent use made of its contents, that the spirit 
of patriotism it breathes forth from the immortal Lincoln may become 
the spirit of the school. 

Sincerely yours, ^/j ^^^ ^) 



State Superintendent. 

(It is suggested tliat tlie puljlic schoots observe the 11th of February, since the 
12th lalla on Saturday, and the schools will not be in session on that day.) 

This department wishes to acknowledge courtesies extended by Mr. J. H. Miller, 
publisher of the Norlh Western BlonOthj, and Major E. S. Johnson, custodian of 
Lincoln'd monument. 



SUGGESTIONS. 
For bii.sy teachers who may not have the time to arrange a prograui 
for the (observance of liincoln Day, tlie following mav be helpful: 

Song Battle Hymn of the Ivepnblic 

Reading Letter of State Superintendent 

Kecitatioa Lincoln 

Biography — (See outline page 5). 



LINCOLN DAY. 3- 

■^^^^'"^ The lieligious Character of Presideut Lincoln 

Kecitiitiou 'SVhen Lincoln Died 

^°^S The Star Spangled Banner 

Quotations — (See pages 7 and 8). 

Select Reading Lincoln's Mother 

Anecdotes— (See pages 10 and 11). 

St'ug Columbia the Gem of the Ocean 

Recitation Oh ! Why Siiould the Spirit of Mortal he Proud ? 

Unveiling— (See page U). 

I^eadiiig Extract from Gettysburg Sjieecli 

Remarks P.y an Old Soldier, or Patron 

Reading From the Oration delivered at the unveiling of Lincoln's Statue 

Song America 

'J'liis program may be lengthened or shortened to suit the conditions 
of any school. It may be well to assign parts early, so that all may 
have ample time to prepare. Let patriotic songs be a i)rominent 
feature of the program. 

In the exercises for Lincoln Day, let the pupils wear badges of red, 
white and blue, or bouquets of red, white and blue flowers. Have a 
profusi(jn of flags draped about the room. Mottoes like "Lincoln," 
"Emancipator," "Saviour of his Country," etc., may be made of 
evergreen or colored paper and put upon the walls of the schoolroom. 
Invitations should be sent to patrons and friends. 

Following are some apj)ropriate quotations thtt may be written or 
printed upon the blackboards: 
"Slavery is dead." 
"Our Country's Martyr." 
" He lives in our memories." 
" Though dead, he yet speaketh. " 
" Freedom's noblest sacrifice." 

" We loved him much, but now we love him more." • 

" Faithful to right, a martyr to justice." 
" He saved our country, and freed a race." 
" With malice toward none, with charity for all " 
" We honor him dead, who honored us while living." 
" The poor man's champion ; the peojjle mourn hini. " 
" Our Union ; cemented in patriot blood shall stand tbrever." 
" He won the wreath of fame 

And wrote on Memory's Pcroll a deathless name." 
" Abraham Lincoln is dead, but his princii)les will live forever.'" 



4 LINCOLN DAY, 

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 

" Upon this act, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious 
favor of Almighty God." 

Major E. S. Johnson writes as follows: 

'* I am glad and interested to know that the Department of Public Instruction 
of Nebraska intends bringing in such tangible form to the youth of the state, the 
lessons of the life of this greatest American." 

LINCOLN. 
BY JAMES G. CLARK. 

With life unsullied froiu his youth. 

He meekly took the ruler's rod. 
And wielding it in love and truth 

He lived, the noblest work of God. 
He knew no fierce, unbalanced zeal. 

That spurns all human ditferings. 
Nor craven fear, that shuns the steel. 

That carves the way to better things. 

And in the night of blood and grief. 

When horror rested on the ark. 
His was the calm, undimmed belief 

That felt God's presence in the dark ; 
Full well he knew each wandering star 

That once had decked the azure dome. 
Would tremble through the clouds of War, 

And, like a prodigal, come home. 

He perished ere the angel Peace 

Had rolled War's curtains from the sky. 
But he shall live when wrong shall cease — 

The good and great can never die ; 
For though his heart lies cold and still 

We feel its beatings warm and grand, 
And still his spirit pulses thrill 

Through all the councils of the land. 

The flag of strife at length is furled. 

Rebellion drops the gory knife ; 
The spring of peace glides up the world, 

Its buds are bursting into life. 
' Beneath the death-clouds low and dun, 

The serpent shrinks in black despair ; 
We lift our eyes to freedom's sun, 

And see the eagle's hovering there. 



LINCOLN DAY. 5 

Oh, tor the hosts that sleep to-day, 

Lulled by the sound of Southern waves ; 
The sun that lit them in tiie fray 

Now warms the flowers upon their graves ; 
Sweet flowers that speak like words of love 

Between the forms of friend and foe, 
Perchance their spirits meet above, 

Who crossed their battle-blades below. 

'Twas not in vain the dehigj came, 

And systems crumbled in the gloom, 
And not in vain have sword and flame 

Robbed home and heart of life and bloom ; 
The mourner's cross, the martyr's blood, 

Shall crown the world with holier rights, 
And Slavery's storm, and Slavery's flood. 

Leave Freedom's ark on loftier heights. 

OUTLINE FOR BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 

Early Life of Lincoln. — His fathei-— His Cliristian mother — 
The poverty or the early home in Kentucky — The teaching of iiis 
mother — The hooks he read — How he sttidied aritiimetic — Moving to 
Indiana — Death of his mother — His first letter and the funeral sei- 
mou — The kind of people among whom Lincoln was reared — His 
step-mother — Splitting rails — Clerking in a store — Stories .showing 
his honesty — His education. 

Lincoln as President — Election — The strong men of his cabi- 
net — The difficult problem he was to work out — How he strove to 
maintain the Union without war — His ordering days of fasting and 
of prayer — His treatment of persons calling at the White House to 
see him — Close of the war — His le-election — His death — Thoughts 
of his administration. 

THE RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 

KEV. P. I). (il'KI-EY. 

Probably no man since the days of Wa>liiugton was ever so deeply en.slirined in 
the hearts of the American people as Abraham Lincoln. Nor was it a mistaken 
confidence and love. He deserved it all. Iledeseived it by his character, by the 
whole tenor, tone, and spirit of his life. He was simple, sincere, plain, honest, 
truthful, just, benevolent, and kind. His perceptions were quick and clear, his 
judgments calm and accurate, and his purposes good and pure i)eyondall question. 
Always and everywhere he aimed both to be right and to do right. His integrity 
was all pervading, all controlling, and incorruptible. As the chief magistrate of a 
great and iniperiled people, he rose to the dignity and moiuentousness of the oc- 



6 LINCOLN DAY. 

casion. He saw his duty, aud he determined to do Iiis whole duty, seeking the 
guidance and leaning upon the arm of Him of whom it is written, " }fe hatli given 
power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength." 

I speak what I know when I affirm that His guidance was the prop on which he 
humbly and habitually leaned. It was the best hope that he had for himself and 
his country. When he was leaving his home in Illinois, and coming to the city to 
take his seat in the executive chair of a disturbed and troubled nation, he said to 
the old and tried friends who gathered tearfully around him and bade him faie- 
well, "I leave you with this request — pray lor me." They did pray for him, and 
millions of others prayed for him. Nor did they pray in vain. The prayers were 
heard. The answer shines forth with a heavenly radiance in the whole course and 
tenor of his administration, from its commencement to its close. 

God raised him up for a great and glorious mission. He furnished him for his 
work and aided him in its accomplishment. He gave him strength of mind, hon- 
esty of heart, and purity and pertinacity of purpose. In addition to these He 
gave him also a calm and abiding confidence in an overruling Providence, and in 
the ultimate triumph of truth and righteousness through the power and l)lessing 
of God. This confidence strengthened him in his hours of anxiety and toil, and 
inspired him with a calm and cheerful hope when others were despondent. 

Never shall I forget the emphasis and the deep emotion, with which, in this very 
room, he said to a company of clergymen, who had called to pay him their respects, 
in the darkest hour of our civil conflict, "Gentlemen, my hope of success in this 
great and terrible struggle rests on that immutable foundation, the justice and 
goodness of God. Even now, when the events seem most threatening, and the 
prospects dark, I still hope that in some way that man cannot see, all will be well 
in the end, and that as our cause is just, God is on our side." 

Such was his sublime and holy faith. It was an anchor to his soul both sure 
and steadfast. It made him firm and strong. It emboldened him in the rugged 
and perilous path of duty. It made him valiant for the right, for the cause of God 
and humanity. It held him in steady, patient, and unswerving adherence to a 
policy which he thought, and which we all now think, both God and humanity 
required him to adopt. 

We admired his child-like simplicity, his freedom from guile and deceit, his 
staunch and sterling integrity, his kind and forgiving temper, aud his persistent 
and self-sacrificing devotion to all the duties of his eminent position. We admired 
his readiness to hear and consider the cause of the poor, the humble, the suffering, 
and the oppressed, and his readiness to spend and be spent for the attainment of 
that great triumph, the blessed fruits of which shall be as wide spreading as the 
earth, and as enduring as the sun. 

All these things command the admiration of the world, and stamped upon his 
life and character the unmistakable impress of true greatness. More sublime than 
all these, more holy and beautiful, was his abiding confidence in God, and in the 
final triumph of truth and righteousness through Him and for His sake. The 
friends of liberty and the Union will repair to his consecrated grave, through ages 
yet to come, to pronounce the memory of its occupant blessed, and to gather from 
his ashes and the rehearsal of his virtues fresh incentives to patriotism, and there 
renew their vows of fidelity to their country and their God. 



LINCOI.N DAY 



WHEN LINCOLN DIED. 

.1. A. EDGERTON. 



Wlien I^iiicoln died a universal grief 
Went nmnd the earth. Men loved him in that hour. 
The North her leader lost ; the South, her friend ; 
The nation lost it savior ; and the slave 
Lost Ills deliverer, ihe most of all. 
O, there was sorrow 'mid the humble poor, 
When Lincoln died. 

When Lincoln died, a great soul pa.ssed passed irom earth. 
In him were strength and gentleness so mixed, 
Tliat each upheld the other. He was firm 
And yet was kind ; as tender as a child. 
And yet as iron-willed as Hercules. 
His power was almost limitless, and yet 
His mercy was as boundless as his power. 
And he was Jovial, laughter-loving, still 
His heart was ever torn with suffering. 
There was divine compassion in the man ; 
A God-like love and pity for his race. 
The world saw the full measure of that love, 
When Lincoln died. 

When Lincoln died, a type was lost to men. 
The earth has had her conquerors and kings 
And many of the common great. Through all, 
She only had one Lincoln. There are none 
Like him in all the annals of the past. 
He was the growth of our new soil; a child 
Of our new time ; he was American ; 
Was of the people, from the lowest rank; 
And yet he scaled with ease the highest height. 
Mankind one of its few immortals lost, 
When Lincoln died. 

When Lincoln died, it seemed a providence: 
For he appeared as one sent for a work. 
Whom, when that work was done, God summoned home. 
He led a splendid fight lor liberty ; 
And when the shackles fell, the land was saved. 
He laid his armor by and sought his rest. 
A glory, sent from heaven, covered him, 
When Lincoln died. 



8 LINCOLN DAY. 

WORDS OF LINCOLN. 
"Gold is good in its place; but liviug patriotic men are better than gold." 
"God must like common people or He would not have made so many.'' 
"This country with its institutions belongs to the people who inhabit it." 
"Let us have that faith that right makes might, and in that taith let us, to the 
end, dare to do our duty as we understand it." 

" The reasonable man has long since agreed that intemperance is one of the great- 
est, if not the greatest, of all evils among mankind." 

"The purposes of the Almighty are perfect and must prevail, though we erring 
mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in advance." 
"The Union must be preserved." 
" Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history." 

" A nation may be said to consist of its territory, its people and its laws." 
" I believe this government cannot permanently endure half slave and half free." 

"No men living are more worthy to be trusted than those who toil up from pov- 
erty." 

"I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have con- 
trolled me." 

"If our sense of duty forbid slavery, then let us stand by our duty fearlessly 
and efiectively. " 

' ' I hope peace will come soon and come to stay; and so come as to be worth the 
keeping in all luture time." 

"In giving freedom to the slaves, we assure freedom to the free; honorable alike 
in what we give and wdiat we preserve." 

" Having thus chosen our course, without guile and with pure purpose, let us re- 
new our trust in God, and go forward without fear and with manly hearts." 

"If this country cannot be saved without giving up the principle of Liberty, I 
was about to s:iy I would rather be assassinated on this spot than surrender it." 

" Do not worry ; eat three square meals a day; say your prayers; be courteous to 
your creditors; keep your digestion good ; steer clear of biliousness ; exercise; go 
slow and go easy. Maybe there are other things that your special case requires to 
make you happy, but, my friend, these, I reckon, will give you a good lift." 

" Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment nothing can fail, with- 
out it nothing can succeed; consequently he who moulds public sentiment goes 
deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes 
and decisions possible or impossible to be executed." 

" To sell or enslave any captured person on account of his color, and for no of- 
fense against the laws of war, is a relapse into barbarism and a crime against the 
civilization of the age." 

" You can fool part of the people all the time; you can fool all the people part 
of the time ; but you can't fool all the people all the time." 

" All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother." 

"With malice toward none, with charity tor all, with lirmness for the right, as 
God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind 



LIXCOLX DAY. 9 

up the nation's wound; to care for him wlio shall have borne the battle, and lor 
his widow and orphans ; to do all which may acliieve and cherish a just and last- 
ing peace among ourselves and with all nations."— Second Inaugural Address. 

(Concerning Slavery.) "This is the real issue— the eternal struggle between 
these two principles, right and wrong, throughout the world. They are the two 
principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever 
continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity, the other the 
divine right of kings. It is the .same principle in whatever shape it develops it- 
self. It is the same spirit that says, ' You work and toil and earn bread, and I'll 
eat it.' " — Lincoln-Douglas Debate. 

"O, how hard it is to die, and not be able to leave the world any better for one's 
own little life in it." 

"I should be the most presumptuous blockhead upon this footstool if I for one 
day thought that I could discharge; the duties which have come upon me since I 
came into this place without the aid and enlightenment of One who is wiser and 
stronger than all others." 

"Knavery and flattery are blood relations." 

'' Before high Heaven and in the foce of the world, I swear eternal fidelity to the 
just cause, as I deem it, of the land of my life, my liberty, and my love." 

"I have never willingly planted a thorn in any man's bosom." 

LINCOLN'S MOTHER. 

Though Presideut Lincoln's mother died when he was only ten 
years of age, yet she lived long enough to inspire him with a noble 
ambition, to train him to love truth and justice, and to reverence God 
and goodness. After he had grown to manhood, he often said, "All 
that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother." 

The wife of a pioneer, she shared the privations and hardships of a 
life in a wilderness. She helped her husband to clear and break up 
the soil, to kill wild turkeys, as well as deer and baavs, wh()3e flesh 
she cooked and whose skins she dressed and made into clothes. 

When Abraham came to be President, men noticed that he scarcely 
made a speech or wrote a state paper in which there was not something 
from the Bible. "Abe Lincoln," his friends used to say, "is more 
familiar with the Bible than most ministers are." 

He had been instructed in the Bible by his mother. It was the 
one book always found in the pioneer'.s cabin, and out of itshe taught 
her boy to spell and read; and with its poetry and historiesand teach- 
ings she made him so familiar that they always influenced his after 
life. 

She was fond of books, and read all she could b?g or borrow from 
the pioneers hir and near. Iler boy early imbibed his mother's pas- 



10 LINCOLN DAY. 

sion for books. He read J>unyan's "Pilgrim's Progres-/' the "Life 
of Washington," and Burns' poems, until he knew these books almost 
as well as he knew the alphabet. 

When his mother died, the son had already received a good educa- 
tion — he spoke the truth, he loved justice, he reverenced God. 
"Whilst he read much he worked also. He could swing the ax, shoot 
the rifle, and take more than a boy's part in the labor of building up 
a home. 

His mother was buried under a large sycamore, on the top of a 
forest-covered hill that stretched above her log-cabin iiorae. This 
resting place she selected herself before she died. Weeks after her 
death, a preacher, who had been written to, traveled hundreds of 
miles through the forest to preach the funeralsermon under the great 
sycamore. In the wilds of their wilderness home there was no 
preacher near to discharge this solemn service. 

The boy of ten years never forgot those sad, plain services, nor the 
mother whose memory they honored. He carried with him through 
life the memory of her tenderness, her love, her devotion to duty. 
When he was President he honored her training by the thought, "She 
placed me here !" 

ANECDOTES. 

Miss Kate Roby relates an incident which illustrates alike Lincoln's 
proticiency in orthography and his natural inclination to help another 
out of the mire. The word "defied" had been given out by School- 
master Crawford, but had been misspelled several times when it came 
Miss E,oby's turn, "Abe stood on the opposite side of the room," 
related Miss Roby to me in 1865, "and was watching me. I began 
d-e-f-, and then I stopped, hesitating whether to proceed with an i or 
a y. Looking up, I behekl Abe, a grin covering his face, and point- 
ing with his index finger to his eye. I took the hint, si)elled the 
word with an i, and went through all right." 

Another testimony to his character as a boy should not be omitted. 
It is that of his step-mother. 

"Abe was a good boy, and I can say, what scarcely one woman — a 
mother — can say in a thousand, Abe never gave me a cross look or 
word, and never refused, in fact or appearance, to do anything that I 
requested of him. I never gave him a cross word in all my life. 



LINCOLN' DAY. 11 

His miiul and mine — whal little I had — seemed to run togetliei'. He 
was here after he was elected President. He was a dutiful son to nie 
always. I think he loved me truly. I had a son, John, who was 
raised with Abe. Both were good boys; but I must say, both now 
being dead, that Abe was the best boy 1 ever saw, or expect to see." 

Two incidents of Lincoln's honesty seemed to have impressed the 
community in which he was at the time. Having discovered on one 
occasion that he had taken six and one-quarter cents too much from a 
customer, he walked six miles that evening, after his store was closed, 
to return the money. Again, he weighed out a half {)ound of tea, as 
he supposed. It was night, and this was the last thing he did before 
closing up. On entering in the morning he discovered a four-ounce 
weight on the scales. He saw his mistake, and closing up shop, hur- 
ried off to deliver the remainder of the tea. 

It was while clerking in this store that he received the nickname of 
" Honest Abe." It was a name that he never dishonored and a char- 
acteristic he never outgrew. 

LINCOLN TO DOUGLASS. 

The emancipation proclamation has been called the most important 
document known in our national history. The issuing of such a 
proclamation was under consideration by Mr. Liucoln for mouths 
before it was made a public edict. The death of Frederick Douglass 
recalls the fact that he and Mr. Lincoln held numerous interviews on 
this subject. Douglass had called one day, urging the immediate 
necessity of issuing the proclamation; this Mr. Lincoln and his cabi- 
net advisers were not quite ready to do. The following interview 
was said to have taken place between 12 and 1 o'clock at night. 

Mr. Douglass was announced and would not leave until he had seen 
the President. Mr. Lincoln went downstairs, with his suspenders 
hanging down his back, without necktie and witiiout shoes. 

His wife followed him to the top of the stairs begging him to re- 
turn and complete his toilet. "It's not necessary; it won't take me 
five minutes to settle this thing — " and he hastened on. 

''Good evening, Mr. Douglass," said the President, " I'm very glad 
to see you; in fact anxious — " 

"Well, I've been thinking about Enuin — " 

" Mr. Douglass, jiardon me for interru|)ting, but there is one eman- 



12 LIXCOLN DAY. 

cipation that I really do want. The times are ripe for it; I am ripe 
for it; I am praying for it; that, sir, is the emancipation from your 
calling at 12 o'clock at night or just before daylight. I tell you, Mr. 
Douglass, I never will issue that emancipation proclamation if you 
don't quit it. This, sir, is signed. A. Lincoln." 

Laughing heartily, the great colored man bowed himself out, with- 
out another word. 

OH ! WHY SHOULD THE SPIRIT OF MORT,VL BE PROUD ? 

( Lincoln's favorite poem.) 

Ob, why should the spirit of mortal be proud? 
Like a swift, fleeting meteor, a fast flying cloud, 
A flash of the lightning, a break of the wave, 
He passeth from life to his rest in the grave. 

The leaves of the oak and the willow shall fade, 
Be scattered around and together be laid ; 
And the young and the old, and the low and the high, 
Shall moulder to dust, and together shall lie. 

The infant a mother attended and loved ; 
The mother that infant's affection who proved ; 
The husband that mother and infant who blessed, 
Each, ail, are away to their dwellings of rest. 

The hand of the king that the scepter hath borne ; 
The brow of the priest that the miter hath worn ; 
The eye of the sage and the heart of the brave, 
Are hidden and lost in the depths of the grave. 

The peasant, whose lot was to sow and to reap ; 
The herdsman, who climbed with his goats to the steep ; 
The beggar, who wandered in search of his bread. 
Have faded away like the grass that we tread. 

The maid, on whose cheek, on whose brow, in whose eye 
Shone beauty and pleasure — -her triumphs are by ; 
And the memory of those who loved her and praised, 
Are alike from the minds of the living erased. 

The saint who enjoyed the communion of Heaven, 
The sinner who dared to remain uuforgiven. 
The wise and the foolish, the guilty and just. 
Have quietly mingled their bones in the dust. 

So the multitude goes, like the flower or the weed 
That withers away to let others succeed ; 
So the multitude comes, even tho.se we behold, 
To repeat every tale that has often been told. 



LINCOLN DAY. 13 

or we are the same our fathers have been ; 
We see the same sights our fathers have seen — 
We drink the same stream and view the same sun— 
And run the same course our lathers have run. 

The thoughts we are thinking our fathers would think : 
From the death we arc shrinking our fathers would shrink ; 
To the life we are clinging they also would cling ; 
But it speeds for us all like a bird on the wing. 

They loved, but the story we cannot unfold ; 
They scorned, but Ihe heart of the haughty is cold ; 
They grieved, but no wail from their slumber will come ; 
They joyed, but the tongue of their gladness is dumb. 
They died, aye ! they died ; we things that are niw, 
That walk on the turf that lies over their brow. 
And make in their dwellings a transient abode, 
Meet the things that they met on their pilgrimage road. 

Yea ! hope and despondency, pleasure and pain, 
W^e mingle together in sunshine and rain ; 
And the smile and the tear, the song and the dirge. 
Still follow each other like surge upon surge. 
'Tis the wink of an eye, the draught of a breath, 
From the blossom of life to the paleness of death. 
From the gilded sab on to the bier and the shroud— 
Oh, why should the spirit of mortal be proud ? 

UNVEILING. 

Secure a good picture of Lincoln, a large one if possible, and place 
it on an easel or table, in a prominent place in the front part of the 
schoolroom. Drape the picture and stand with evergreens or flowers, 
and let the folds of the "stars and stripes" hang over the whole. 

Select a pupil to deliver the unveiling speech, and at the proper 
moment, gracefully remove the flag aud bring into view the picture. 

(If properly carried out this proves very effective). 

UNVEILING SPEECH. 

Feiends and Schoolmates: W'e have met to-day in commemoration of one 
of the most remarkable men that ever lived. Next to Washington he holds the 
first place in the hearts of Americans. Born and reared in poverty, accustomed 
from childhood to the hardest toil, self-instructed, in .spite of almost insurmount- 
able difficulties, he rose step by step, by force of genius, from the position of rail- 
splitter to that of attorney, and from attorney to the highest olBce in the gift of 
the people. 

Monuments have been erected to his memory, paintings have been made to grace 



14 LIKCOLX DAY. 

the homes of his beloved countrjmeu. The luonuments will crumble into dust, 
the paintings will fade away, l)nt the monument dedicated to Lincoln, erected in 
the memory, aud with words graven in the hearts of the people, will remain till 
the last of them shall cease to live, and the English language forgotten. 

I have been selected to perform the highly honorable, and to me the pleasing 
duty of unveiling the portrait of Lincoln. This I now do (unveil), and present 
to your view the features of the iirdiulcsl and noblest man that ever laid down his 
life for his country. 

He lived to strike the shackles from four million slaves, and to abolish the hid- 
eous principle of slavery from this fair land forever. He lived to demonstrate that 
the lowly born might, in these United States, rise to positions of honor and promi- 
nence. He died a martyr to his countr}'. He died, but a great principle still lives, 
and will live to bless his name forever. 

We do honor to his memory to-day. We shall do well to honor his memory 
every day, by putting in practice those grand principles which he taught l>y pre- 
cept and example throughout a life of care and sympathy for his fellowman. 

Wherever the name of Lincoln shall be spoken, let it be an inspiration to us, 
and let us associate with it that noble sentiment, "With malice toward none, with 
charity for all." 



SPEECH AT THE DEDICATEON OF GETTYSBURCi N.YTIONAL CEME- 
TERY, DELIVERED BY LINCOLN, NOVEMBER 19, 18615. 

Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new 
Nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are 
created equal. 

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any 
nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great 
baitletield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as the 
final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that Nation might live. 
It is altogether fitting aud proper that we .should do this. 

But, in a larger sen«e, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot 
hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have 
consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little 
note, nor long remember what we say here ; but it can never forget what they did 
here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which 
they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be 
here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored 
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last 
full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not 
have died in vain ; that this Nation, under God, sliall have a new birth of freedom 
and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not 
perish from the earth. 



LINCOLN DAY. 15 

LINCOLN ON WASHINiJTON. 
Diking ax Address, Febkiiary 22, 1842, at Hi'kingfiki.d, III. 

Tins is the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the Ijirthda^' of Washington — 
we are met to celebate this day. 

Washington is the mi.i;litie3t name on earth — louj; since miglitiest in the cause 
of civil liberty, still mightiest in moral reformation. 

On that name a eulogy is expected. It cannot be. To add brightness to the 
sun, or glory to the name of Washington, is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. 

In solemu awe pronounce the uame and in its naked, deathless splendor, leave it 
shining on. 



CLOSING WORDS OF THE ORATION DELIVERED AT THE UNVEILING 
OF LINCOLN'S STATUE, BY HON. R. G. OGLES BY. 

Who shall measure the usefulness of the life of such a man, and who shall hope 
to do his memory justice? In the long range and course of time, come what may 
— whether a republic grounded on the immovable foundations of justice and free- 
dom, approved after long experience and ages of human happiness as the best form 
of human government still standing, or whether a republic, torn into factions and 
rent by the mad ambitions of men, in ruins — this monument, an enduring testi- 
monial to the humble life, glorious deeds and shining example of the great citizen 
and martyr, will stand for the illumination of all men of every clime, nationality 
and condition, who, in search of the highest aims and loftiest purposes of life shall 
come to this fountain for inspiration and hope. Here the humble may take new 
courage, the proud learn humility, the ambitious that the true way to greatness 
lies through industry, integrity and patriotism, and all men that only the good 
can be truly great. In no other country under the sun could the obscure boy have 
found his way through the long succession of mysterious and grave events to such 
eminence and power; and where and in what land can one be found who wielded 
power with such grace, humility and wisdom? The living assign him his proper 
place in the affections of all men. Posterity, profoundly moved by the simplicity 
of his private life, elevated and enlightened by the purity and splendor of his ad- 
ministration and public services, cannot fail to fix his place amongst those who 
shall rank highest in their veneration. He has gone to the firmanent of Washing- 
ton, and a new light shines down upon his beloved countrymen from the American 
constellation. 

GENERAL GRANT'S TRIBUTE. 

To know him personally was to love and respect him lor his great qualities of 
heart and head, and for his patience and patriotism. With all hi-' disappointments 
from failures on the part of those to whom he had intrusted command, and treach- 
ery on the part of those who had gained his confidence but to betray it, I never 
heard him utter a complaint, nor cast a censure for bad conduct or bad faith. It 
was his nature to find excuses for his adversaries. In his death the nation lost its 
createst hero. In his death the Soutli li)st its most just frientl. 



.# 



16 LINCOLN DAY. 

W. J. BRYAN'S TRIBUTE TO LINCOLN. 

Abraham Lincoln is one of America's immortals. He grows in the affections of 
the people with each passing year. He was a product of our civilizaiion, reared 
among the people, and their friend. As an orator, he has seldom, if ever, been 
surpassed in simplicity of expression and force of argument ; os a patriot, he was 
wholly devoted to his country's welfare and followed lofty ideals; as a statesman 
he fought principles rather than men and thus avoided the bitterness of personal 
antagonisms. His birth, his boyhood, his political contests, his public life, and his 
tragical death combined to give him an unique place in our nation's history. 

The Hon. John M. Thayer gave us some assurance that he would 
preiJare an article on Lincoln, but he informs us he has been so 
pressed with other matters that it has been impossible forliim to do so. 

SOME INTERESTING FACTS. 

There are twenty "Lincoln " counties and thirty cities and towns in 
the United States, while a great many others liave the name modified, 
as "Lincolnville," etc. 

Lincoln's monument, a picture of which is on the last leaf of this 
booklet, was erected in 1871, in Oak Ridge Cemetery, near Spring- 
field, Illinois, at a cost of $136,550. It may be interesting to know 
that Nebraska contributed $500 to this fund. This amount was ex- 
pended in building tlie monument proper. In addition to this, the 
statue of Lincoln and the groups representing the several branches of 
the Army of the United States, were placed in position at a co?t of 
about $70,000. 

The base of the monument is seventy-two and one-half feet squaie, 
and, with the circular projection of the Catacomb on the nortli and 
Memorial Hall on the south, the extreme length on the ground from 
north to south is one hundred nineteen and one-half feet. Height of 
of the terrace, fifteen feet ten inciies. From the terrace to the aj)ex of 
the obelisk, eighty-two feet six and one-half inches. From the grade 
line to the top of the four round pedestals, twenty-eight feet four 
inches, and to the top of the ])e(lestal for the Lincoln statue, thirty- 
five and one-half feet. Total fiom ground line to apex of obelisk, 
ninety-eight feet four and one-half inches. 

It is estimated that 50,000 people visited the monument during 
1897. On the register may be seen the names of visitors from nearly 
every country on the globe. 



Af'R la mi 




(Fig. 10.) 
Taa N^yioNAii Lincoln Monumsnt, Speinqfield, III.— South View. 



LB My '(3 



